Fic: Suicide Boys, Chapter 3
Art: Sitting Here Innocently
Probably set in the same world as this story, but really just an excuse to try a slightly new pose.
Title: Suicide Boys, A Murderverse Story
Author: FearfulLT
Rating: PG-13 but will go up.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Kurt/Puck, Blaine, and appearances from New Directions.
Genre: Drama
Warning: AU, adult themes, potential creepiness, mentions of death and bullying.
Spoilers: AU from season 1.
Disclaimer: I don't own it and I'm not making any money from it, this is pure entertainment.
Author Notes: So it turns out that actually being employed for the first time in a long while isn't good for my writing speed. On the plus side... I have a long commute to think about plot points.
Summary: Blaine thought that the only thing he'd have to deal with at his new school would be deciding whether or not to come out. He never counted on Kurt Hummel, or all of the things that happened next.
Word Count: 2822
Previous
School on Monday morning was nerve wracking. He’d already been at McKinley for a week and yet somehow it felt like his first day all over again. The only differences between now and then were his clothes - designer brand jeans, grey graphic print tee, and open blue shirt - and the fact that he was friends with Kurt Hummel. That one was a difference that seemed to give him some instant credibility.
He noticed it as he was getting out of his mother’s car, her “have a good day, honey” still ringing in his ears. Heads turned his way, he heard Kurt’s name on the breeze, a group of girls nearby trying to remember if they’d heard his. He took a chance and smiled at them on his way past, feeling like a fraud when he got flirtatious looks in return.
Evidently being friends with the biggest queen in the school didn’t automatically make him gay.
It was both a relief and a burden. He couldn’t imagine ever leading on a girl just for the sake of his image, but he also wasn’t ready to risk his budding reputation (or his safety) by coming out.
Blaine didn’t know how he managed to make it to his locker without messing up the confident walk he was trying to cultivate. Somehow he made it, a little surprised to see the small group of females waiting for him.
“Hey guys,” he greeted them, still a little uncertain about how friendly he should be with people he’d only known for a week. True, they were in glee together, but that didn’t automatically make them all best friends.
Or so he thought. He might have been mistaken. The thought did enter his mind when Mercedes announced; “Kurt tells us you’re looking to get a new image this year.”
“He says your old one was so last season,” Brittany added, repeating the words as if she had memorised them but wasn’t one hundred percent sure what they meant, “and you need a helping hand or you’ll be stuck in the closet forever.”
“So we’re here as a reputation boost,” Quinn finished. “As the most popular girls in school whoever we hang out with automatically increases in popularity themselves. Add to that the fact that you’ll be seen walking to class with three of the hottest girls at McKinley and your X factor amongst the other students will definitely see an increase.”
“Everyone will think you’re really hot and mysterious,” Brittany said, blonde hair bouncing as she nodded.
Blaine wasn’t sure what to say to that. He blinked, putting his things away in his locker as an excuse for the pause. “Thanks,” he said eventually. “But, don’t take this the wrong way, what’s in it for you?”
Mercedes shrugged. “Gossip.” The other two girls nodded. “We can say we have the scoop on McKinley’s newest stud. Plus Kurt promised to buy us all non fat muffins from Starbucks if we helped you out.”
Blaine wasn’t sure if he should be offended or impressed. He decided to go for the latter. “So you’re walking me to class?”
“You’re walking me to class,” Quinn corrected, “and then dropping Mercedes off down the hall, and Brittany has English with you so you’ll be walking with her.”
“Ok,” Blaine agreed, looking between the three girls, “I can do that.”
The entire operation consisted of walking, making small talk, and being seen. They dropped Quinn off at her classroom five minutes early, which meant that Mercedes was also a few minutes early, giving Blaine and Brittany just a few minutes to walk to their own class. During that time Blaine could see people looking in their direction and talking about them. This, he realised, was obviously step two in Kurt’s plan to make him popular and accepted.
“Kurt is a genius,” Brittany commented when he mentioned it to her. “He taught me how to tie my shoelaces.”
“He seems like a nice guy,” Blaine said casually, taking a seat at one of the empty desks. He wasn’t too surprised this time when Brittany sat next to him.
“He’s really nice,” Brittany agreed, “and he has really soft hands too. It’s too bad that he’s also really gay otherwise I’d want to date him.”
Sensing an unsuspecting well of information in the blonde girl, Blaine leaned over and asked; “Is he really the most popular guy in school? Because that just seems kind of unusual to me.”
Brittany nodded. “Aside from Finn he’s the most popular boy in school.”
“Why?”
“Well everybody used to think he was a loser, but then all of those kids died last year and he was the one who suggested doing a concert to raise funds for a memorial,” Brittany explained, and it sounded as if she was reciting a news article she’d read. “He also sang for the Cheerios at Nationals and helped us win and people say he helped rehabilitate Puck so he doesn’t set things on fire or throw kids in dumpsters anymore.”
Blaine needed a moment to take all of that in. He was about to ask Brittany why she thought Kurt was being so nice to him when Mr. Hooper walked in and began the lesson. Resigned to not getting any more answers for the moment Blaine sat back in his desk properly and started taking notes. Being concerned with popularity was no reason to fall behind in class work, even if they were still just going over what had been taught last year. He had planned to try and talk to Brittany again after class but was thwarted when it turned out that she needed to go in a completely different direction.
Instead Blaine found himself in his next class alone. The class after that he somehow wound up sitting beside Mike from the glee club, who said a friendly hello and then didn’t say much more unless commenting on the work they were supposed to be doing. Blaine didn’t mind. At least it was company.
He got through the morning without mishap, and without overhearing too much gossip about himself, before suddenly it was lunchtime and Kurt seemed to appear out of nowhere and take hold of his elbow. “My plan is,” Kurt announced, leading him towards the cafeteria, “of course, working perfectly. You are now the second-most talked about person or event in the school.”
“Second most?” Blaine asked, getting the same sense of things moving very quickly that he’d had that weekend at the mall.
“After Amanda Peterson’s supposedly blowing a nameless football player under the bleachers,” Kurt said dismissively, clearly not seeing that ‘information’ as in any way relevant.”Which means that the arrival of mysterious stranger Blaine Anderson at McKinley high is second only to a supposedly sordid sexual scandal. But then again who isn’t?”
“It’s pretty hard to beat sexual scandal,” Blaine said, going with the first thing that popped into his head. “It was the same at my old school.”
Kurt clucked his tongue. “Never mention your old school,” he advised. “Blaine, we are crafting a new identity for you as the mysterious and handsome newcomer. If people know where you came from that removes the mystery and you become just another student.”
“So what happens when people find out where I went to school before?”
“They never will.”
Blaine shook his head, his lips involuntarily twitching up into a smile. “Your confidence is pretty impressive.”
Kurt smiled back, the twist of his lips far more cynical. “Trust me, I know all about the timing and release of information. I am an expert at keeping secrets.”
“Ok. So you’re my reputation guru. What’s my next step?”
“Singing,” Kurt told him firmly, “the lead role in a fantastic impromptu performance. By this time tomorrow everyone will know your name. In a good way. Not in an Amanda Peterson way.”
“Tomorrow?” Blaine repeated, a thread of anxiety winding around his heart. “That’s hardly any time to practice.” And he hadn’t sang the lead role in anything for months. He was bound to be out of practice. One day just wasn’t enough time.
“Yes, tomorrow.” Kurt patted his arm. “Don’t panic. I already have the perfect song in mind and Rachel has agreed to help you rehearse this afternoon. You can stay late after school, can’t you?”
Blaine wasn’t sure why he nodded, why he wasn’t protesting that he needed more time. “I’ll just need to let my parents know where I am,” he replied, his head reeling. “I might need a ride home too.”
“We can find someone to drive you home, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure I can, and if I can’t then there’s always Puck.”
“I don’t know if I want to be alone in a car with him for half an hour. No offense, but I’m not entirely convinced he doesn’t want to punch me in the face.”
Kurt laughed, the sound of it musical. “That’s just his ego showing, ignore it, he’s like that with everyone at first.”
“Who’s like what with everyone?” Blaine heard someone ask, and was shocked to discover that they were standing by the glee table already, the few other kids already there listening in.
“Puck,” Kurt supplied.
Artie nodded. “Puck has a bad boy reputation that he works really hard to keep intact, even though all of us know he’s really harmless. He’ll ease up on the glaring when he gets to know you.”
“So he’s really like that with everyone?” Blaine asked, taking a seat at the table.
On the opposite side of the table Tina nodded. “He’s totally a nice guy. Last year he actually tried to stop Ka-... some boys from throwing slushies at us.”
“Wait. People used to throw slushies at you?”
Kurt sighed dramatically. “Sadly, we weren’t always this popular.”
“Last year we were losers,” Artie informed him dryly, “kids actually used to steal my wheelchair and make a competition out of putting it in the weirdest places. One time the school had to call the fire department because it got put in a tree.”
“But then the murders happened,” Tina continued, “and things just sort of changed. We did the benefit concert and became celebrities.” She shrugged. “It’s a macabre way of gaining celebrity status, but I like the macabre so I think it’s kinda cool.”
“Sometimes there’s a price for popularity,” Kurt stated pragmatically. “Your price,” he added, “will be spending an entire rehearsal alone with Rachel.”
Blaine couldn’t actually imagine it would be that bad until he was there in the choir room singing the introduction to Teenage Dream for what felt like the fiftieth time. Rachel, it turned out, was a perfectionist of the worst kind. She told him to go from the heart and let it flow, then came back with a ton of corrections and helpful little suggestions. He recognised the show-pony type from the competitions he used to sing in and wondered whether she didn’t suffer the kind of stage-mothering he was glad he’d never had to deal with.
His own mother, when he’d called to let her know that he’d be late, wasn’t the stage mother type. She glossed right over the details about why he was staying late and focussed on the fact that he was with friends. “See?” she’d said proudly, “I told you that you’d be making friends before you knew it!”
Blaine had wanted to tell her that it was just a practice session and not to get her hopes up, but he hadn’t wanted to be rude in front of Rachel. Finally, almost two hours later, he had the song down in a way that Rachel deemed perfect. By that point he was sure he’d be able to sing the entire thing backwards with his eyes closed (a capella). When he said so to Rachel she just beamed at him and said; “Well I’m sure you won’t have to do that, but as a fellow performer you should know that memorisation is part of the foundation of an outstanding performance.”
“So is sleep,” Blaine replied, gathering up his things and the sheet music Rachel had provided. “And that was one exhausting rehearsal. I think it’s about time I went home and crashed.”
“By all means, don’t let me keep you from getting your rest. I myself always find it refreshing to have a short nap after a vigorous rehearsal.”
“Ok. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”He smiled. “And Rachel, thanks for practicing with me.” Blaine started towards the door. He got half way there before he realised he still didn’t know exactly how he was getting home. Presumably someone would be driving him, but he’d never gotten a straight answer as to who.
He decided to go to the parking lot and see if someone was waiting for him there. If nobody was, he thought to himself, then he’d text Kurt and ask him. And failing that, there was always calling his mother and begging a ride from her. With that in mind Blaine walked through the empty halls of McKinley, his footsteps echoing a little in the silence. There were only a few cars left in the parking lot, none of which he recognised. He was just about to pull out his phone when a horn honked, startling him into looking up.
An arm was sticking out the driver’s side window of a beat up truck, waving him over.
Blaine trotted over and peered into the car to see Puck sitting in the front seat. “Hi. So I guess you’re my ride?”
“Yup,” Puck responded, leaning over to unlock the passenger side door from the inside. “That’s me. The fucking Puckerman express, here to get your ass home.”
“I appreciate it,” Blaine said, then hurried around to slide in to the passenger seat. He shut the door, put on his seatbelt, and stuffed his bag into the foot well just as Puck turned on the engine. It rumbled like a large, grumpy animal disturbed from a nap, windows rattling, and soft, staticky music coming from the speakers.
Puck reached for the radio and turned the tuning knob a little until the static disappeared, then adjusted the volume. “Hope you like classic rock,” he commented, taking the brake off, “’cause that’s what you’re getting.”
“That’s fine,” Blaine replied, feeling a little bit awkward.
The car started to move, going slow until they were out of the parking lot before Puck abruptly changed gears and sped off down the road. Blaine figured he should probably tell the other boy his address.
“I live at 16 Haywood, by the way,” he said. “It’s near -“
“Yeah, I know where that is,” Puck cut him off. “Kurt already told me. I looked it up on the map earlier.”
“Oh. Good.” Blaine shifted in the seat and looked out the windshield, arms crossed over himself.
“Jesus. I don’t bite.”
The amused statement was so unexpected that Blaine jumped a little. He looked back at Puck. “What?”
“I don’t bite,” Puck repeated, glanced back at him with a smirk. “I’m not gonna drive you to some remote location and kill you. I’m an asshole, yeah. But you’re Kurt’s friend and you’re in glee, that automatically makes you my friend too.”
“Not really,” Blaine replied, shaking his head. “Nothing automatically makes anyone friends with anyone else.”
“Bull.”
“I’m just saying...I haven’t been at school all that long. I don’t really know who’s my friend yet and who isn’t.”
“New Directions are your friends,” Puck stated as if it were absolute fact, something already set in stone. “What the hell more do you need? Popularity?”
It was a dig and Blaine knew it. He could tell by the way the other boy had said it. “It wouldn’t hurt,” he admitted. “It might be nice to be popular for a change.”
“Because you weren’t at your last school, right?”
The sly smirk tipped him off. “Kurt told you,” Blaine accused quietly. He didn’t like that idea, or thinking that Kurt might have been talking about him behind his back. Especially about things he really didn’t want to get turned into gossip at this new school.
“That you’re gay, you got kicked around, and life pretty much sucked for you?” Puck shrugged. “Don’t take it personally. Kurt tells me everything.”
“Then he also would have told you that this popularity plan wasn’t my idea.”
Puck laughed at that. He took his eyes off the road to grin at Blaine. “Yeah, he didn’t need to tell me that. It’s always Kurt’s idea.”
Blaine frowned out the window, thinking that he was missing something there. He was starting to get reminded of teen drama movies with scheming, bitchy popular kids again. But then again, he realised, if he remembered those correctly then as long as he didn’t steal anyone’s boyfriend (or too much of the spotlight) he’d be fine. Better than, actually.
Probably set in the same world as this story, but really just an excuse to try a slightly new pose.
Title: Suicide Boys, A Murderverse Story
Author: FearfulLT
Rating: PG-13 but will go up.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Kurt/Puck, Blaine, and appearances from New Directions.
Genre: Drama
Warning: AU, adult themes, potential creepiness, mentions of death and bullying.
Spoilers: AU from season 1.
Disclaimer: I don't own it and I'm not making any money from it, this is pure entertainment.
Author Notes: So it turns out that actually being employed for the first time in a long while isn't good for my writing speed. On the plus side... I have a long commute to think about plot points.
Summary: Blaine thought that the only thing he'd have to deal with at his new school would be deciding whether or not to come out. He never counted on Kurt Hummel, or all of the things that happened next.
Word Count: 2822
Previous
School on Monday morning was nerve wracking. He’d already been at McKinley for a week and yet somehow it felt like his first day all over again. The only differences between now and then were his clothes - designer brand jeans, grey graphic print tee, and open blue shirt - and the fact that he was friends with Kurt Hummel. That one was a difference that seemed to give him some instant credibility.
He noticed it as he was getting out of his mother’s car, her “have a good day, honey” still ringing in his ears. Heads turned his way, he heard Kurt’s name on the breeze, a group of girls nearby trying to remember if they’d heard his. He took a chance and smiled at them on his way past, feeling like a fraud when he got flirtatious looks in return.
Evidently being friends with the biggest queen in the school didn’t automatically make him gay.
It was both a relief and a burden. He couldn’t imagine ever leading on a girl just for the sake of his image, but he also wasn’t ready to risk his budding reputation (or his safety) by coming out.
Blaine didn’t know how he managed to make it to his locker without messing up the confident walk he was trying to cultivate. Somehow he made it, a little surprised to see the small group of females waiting for him.
“Hey guys,” he greeted them, still a little uncertain about how friendly he should be with people he’d only known for a week. True, they were in glee together, but that didn’t automatically make them all best friends.
Or so he thought. He might have been mistaken. The thought did enter his mind when Mercedes announced; “Kurt tells us you’re looking to get a new image this year.”
“He says your old one was so last season,” Brittany added, repeating the words as if she had memorised them but wasn’t one hundred percent sure what they meant, “and you need a helping hand or you’ll be stuck in the closet forever.”
“So we’re here as a reputation boost,” Quinn finished. “As the most popular girls in school whoever we hang out with automatically increases in popularity themselves. Add to that the fact that you’ll be seen walking to class with three of the hottest girls at McKinley and your X factor amongst the other students will definitely see an increase.”
“Everyone will think you’re really hot and mysterious,” Brittany said, blonde hair bouncing as she nodded.
Blaine wasn’t sure what to say to that. He blinked, putting his things away in his locker as an excuse for the pause. “Thanks,” he said eventually. “But, don’t take this the wrong way, what’s in it for you?”
Mercedes shrugged. “Gossip.” The other two girls nodded. “We can say we have the scoop on McKinley’s newest stud. Plus Kurt promised to buy us all non fat muffins from Starbucks if we helped you out.”
Blaine wasn’t sure if he should be offended or impressed. He decided to go for the latter. “So you’re walking me to class?”
“You’re walking me to class,” Quinn corrected, “and then dropping Mercedes off down the hall, and Brittany has English with you so you’ll be walking with her.”
“Ok,” Blaine agreed, looking between the three girls, “I can do that.”
The entire operation consisted of walking, making small talk, and being seen. They dropped Quinn off at her classroom five minutes early, which meant that Mercedes was also a few minutes early, giving Blaine and Brittany just a few minutes to walk to their own class. During that time Blaine could see people looking in their direction and talking about them. This, he realised, was obviously step two in Kurt’s plan to make him popular and accepted.
“Kurt is a genius,” Brittany commented when he mentioned it to her. “He taught me how to tie my shoelaces.”
“He seems like a nice guy,” Blaine said casually, taking a seat at one of the empty desks. He wasn’t too surprised this time when Brittany sat next to him.
“He’s really nice,” Brittany agreed, “and he has really soft hands too. It’s too bad that he’s also really gay otherwise I’d want to date him.”
Sensing an unsuspecting well of information in the blonde girl, Blaine leaned over and asked; “Is he really the most popular guy in school? Because that just seems kind of unusual to me.”
Brittany nodded. “Aside from Finn he’s the most popular boy in school.”
“Why?”
“Well everybody used to think he was a loser, but then all of those kids died last year and he was the one who suggested doing a concert to raise funds for a memorial,” Brittany explained, and it sounded as if she was reciting a news article she’d read. “He also sang for the Cheerios at Nationals and helped us win and people say he helped rehabilitate Puck so he doesn’t set things on fire or throw kids in dumpsters anymore.”
Blaine needed a moment to take all of that in. He was about to ask Brittany why she thought Kurt was being so nice to him when Mr. Hooper walked in and began the lesson. Resigned to not getting any more answers for the moment Blaine sat back in his desk properly and started taking notes. Being concerned with popularity was no reason to fall behind in class work, even if they were still just going over what had been taught last year. He had planned to try and talk to Brittany again after class but was thwarted when it turned out that she needed to go in a completely different direction.
Instead Blaine found himself in his next class alone. The class after that he somehow wound up sitting beside Mike from the glee club, who said a friendly hello and then didn’t say much more unless commenting on the work they were supposed to be doing. Blaine didn’t mind. At least it was company.
He got through the morning without mishap, and without overhearing too much gossip about himself, before suddenly it was lunchtime and Kurt seemed to appear out of nowhere and take hold of his elbow. “My plan is,” Kurt announced, leading him towards the cafeteria, “of course, working perfectly. You are now the second-most talked about person or event in the school.”
“Second most?” Blaine asked, getting the same sense of things moving very quickly that he’d had that weekend at the mall.
“After Amanda Peterson’s supposedly blowing a nameless football player under the bleachers,” Kurt said dismissively, clearly not seeing that ‘information’ as in any way relevant.”Which means that the arrival of mysterious stranger Blaine Anderson at McKinley high is second only to a supposedly sordid sexual scandal. But then again who isn’t?”
“It’s pretty hard to beat sexual scandal,” Blaine said, going with the first thing that popped into his head. “It was the same at my old school.”
Kurt clucked his tongue. “Never mention your old school,” he advised. “Blaine, we are crafting a new identity for you as the mysterious and handsome newcomer. If people know where you came from that removes the mystery and you become just another student.”
“So what happens when people find out where I went to school before?”
“They never will.”
Blaine shook his head, his lips involuntarily twitching up into a smile. “Your confidence is pretty impressive.”
Kurt smiled back, the twist of his lips far more cynical. “Trust me, I know all about the timing and release of information. I am an expert at keeping secrets.”
“Ok. So you’re my reputation guru. What’s my next step?”
“Singing,” Kurt told him firmly, “the lead role in a fantastic impromptu performance. By this time tomorrow everyone will know your name. In a good way. Not in an Amanda Peterson way.”
“Tomorrow?” Blaine repeated, a thread of anxiety winding around his heart. “That’s hardly any time to practice.” And he hadn’t sang the lead role in anything for months. He was bound to be out of practice. One day just wasn’t enough time.
“Yes, tomorrow.” Kurt patted his arm. “Don’t panic. I already have the perfect song in mind and Rachel has agreed to help you rehearse this afternoon. You can stay late after school, can’t you?”
Blaine wasn’t sure why he nodded, why he wasn’t protesting that he needed more time. “I’ll just need to let my parents know where I am,” he replied, his head reeling. “I might need a ride home too.”
“We can find someone to drive you home, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure I can, and if I can’t then there’s always Puck.”
“I don’t know if I want to be alone in a car with him for half an hour. No offense, but I’m not entirely convinced he doesn’t want to punch me in the face.”
Kurt laughed, the sound of it musical. “That’s just his ego showing, ignore it, he’s like that with everyone at first.”
“Who’s like what with everyone?” Blaine heard someone ask, and was shocked to discover that they were standing by the glee table already, the few other kids already there listening in.
“Puck,” Kurt supplied.
Artie nodded. “Puck has a bad boy reputation that he works really hard to keep intact, even though all of us know he’s really harmless. He’ll ease up on the glaring when he gets to know you.”
“So he’s really like that with everyone?” Blaine asked, taking a seat at the table.
On the opposite side of the table Tina nodded. “He’s totally a nice guy. Last year he actually tried to stop Ka-... some boys from throwing slushies at us.”
“Wait. People used to throw slushies at you?”
Kurt sighed dramatically. “Sadly, we weren’t always this popular.”
“Last year we were losers,” Artie informed him dryly, “kids actually used to steal my wheelchair and make a competition out of putting it in the weirdest places. One time the school had to call the fire department because it got put in a tree.”
“But then the murders happened,” Tina continued, “and things just sort of changed. We did the benefit concert and became celebrities.” She shrugged. “It’s a macabre way of gaining celebrity status, but I like the macabre so I think it’s kinda cool.”
“Sometimes there’s a price for popularity,” Kurt stated pragmatically. “Your price,” he added, “will be spending an entire rehearsal alone with Rachel.”
Blaine couldn’t actually imagine it would be that bad until he was there in the choir room singing the introduction to Teenage Dream for what felt like the fiftieth time. Rachel, it turned out, was a perfectionist of the worst kind. She told him to go from the heart and let it flow, then came back with a ton of corrections and helpful little suggestions. He recognised the show-pony type from the competitions he used to sing in and wondered whether she didn’t suffer the kind of stage-mothering he was glad he’d never had to deal with.
His own mother, when he’d called to let her know that he’d be late, wasn’t the stage mother type. She glossed right over the details about why he was staying late and focussed on the fact that he was with friends. “See?” she’d said proudly, “I told you that you’d be making friends before you knew it!”
Blaine had wanted to tell her that it was just a practice session and not to get her hopes up, but he hadn’t wanted to be rude in front of Rachel. Finally, almost two hours later, he had the song down in a way that Rachel deemed perfect. By that point he was sure he’d be able to sing the entire thing backwards with his eyes closed (a capella). When he said so to Rachel she just beamed at him and said; “Well I’m sure you won’t have to do that, but as a fellow performer you should know that memorisation is part of the foundation of an outstanding performance.”
“So is sleep,” Blaine replied, gathering up his things and the sheet music Rachel had provided. “And that was one exhausting rehearsal. I think it’s about time I went home and crashed.”
“By all means, don’t let me keep you from getting your rest. I myself always find it refreshing to have a short nap after a vigorous rehearsal.”
“Ok. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”He smiled. “And Rachel, thanks for practicing with me.” Blaine started towards the door. He got half way there before he realised he still didn’t know exactly how he was getting home. Presumably someone would be driving him, but he’d never gotten a straight answer as to who.
He decided to go to the parking lot and see if someone was waiting for him there. If nobody was, he thought to himself, then he’d text Kurt and ask him. And failing that, there was always calling his mother and begging a ride from her. With that in mind Blaine walked through the empty halls of McKinley, his footsteps echoing a little in the silence. There were only a few cars left in the parking lot, none of which he recognised. He was just about to pull out his phone when a horn honked, startling him into looking up.
An arm was sticking out the driver’s side window of a beat up truck, waving him over.
Blaine trotted over and peered into the car to see Puck sitting in the front seat. “Hi. So I guess you’re my ride?”
“Yup,” Puck responded, leaning over to unlock the passenger side door from the inside. “That’s me. The fucking Puckerman express, here to get your ass home.”
“I appreciate it,” Blaine said, then hurried around to slide in to the passenger seat. He shut the door, put on his seatbelt, and stuffed his bag into the foot well just as Puck turned on the engine. It rumbled like a large, grumpy animal disturbed from a nap, windows rattling, and soft, staticky music coming from the speakers.
Puck reached for the radio and turned the tuning knob a little until the static disappeared, then adjusted the volume. “Hope you like classic rock,” he commented, taking the brake off, “’cause that’s what you’re getting.”
“That’s fine,” Blaine replied, feeling a little bit awkward.
The car started to move, going slow until they were out of the parking lot before Puck abruptly changed gears and sped off down the road. Blaine figured he should probably tell the other boy his address.
“I live at 16 Haywood, by the way,” he said. “It’s near -“
“Yeah, I know where that is,” Puck cut him off. “Kurt already told me. I looked it up on the map earlier.”
“Oh. Good.” Blaine shifted in the seat and looked out the windshield, arms crossed over himself.
“Jesus. I don’t bite.”
The amused statement was so unexpected that Blaine jumped a little. He looked back at Puck. “What?”
“I don’t bite,” Puck repeated, glanced back at him with a smirk. “I’m not gonna drive you to some remote location and kill you. I’m an asshole, yeah. But you’re Kurt’s friend and you’re in glee, that automatically makes you my friend too.”
“Not really,” Blaine replied, shaking his head. “Nothing automatically makes anyone friends with anyone else.”
“Bull.”
“I’m just saying...I haven’t been at school all that long. I don’t really know who’s my friend yet and who isn’t.”
“New Directions are your friends,” Puck stated as if it were absolute fact, something already set in stone. “What the hell more do you need? Popularity?”
It was a dig and Blaine knew it. He could tell by the way the other boy had said it. “It wouldn’t hurt,” he admitted. “It might be nice to be popular for a change.”
“Because you weren’t at your last school, right?”
The sly smirk tipped him off. “Kurt told you,” Blaine accused quietly. He didn’t like that idea, or thinking that Kurt might have been talking about him behind his back. Especially about things he really didn’t want to get turned into gossip at this new school.
“That you’re gay, you got kicked around, and life pretty much sucked for you?” Puck shrugged. “Don’t take it personally. Kurt tells me everything.”
“Then he also would have told you that this popularity plan wasn’t my idea.”
Puck laughed at that. He took his eyes off the road to grin at Blaine. “Yeah, he didn’t need to tell me that. It’s always Kurt’s idea.”
Blaine frowned out the window, thinking that he was missing something there. He was starting to get reminded of teen drama movies with scheming, bitchy popular kids again. But then again, he realised, if he remembered those correctly then as long as he didn’t steal anyone’s boyfriend (or too much of the spotlight) he’d be fine. Better than, actually.